Meet the heavyweight champion who only turned to boxing to make ends meet after his baby daughter was diagnosed with spina bifida

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder was once an aspiring basketball and football player in Tuscaloosa, Alabama before learning at 19 that his girlfriend was expecting their first child

Naieya Wilder was born with spina bifida, and to make ends meet, Deontay dropped out of community college and began working at IHOP and Red Lobster before going down to the local gym to try his hand at boxing

Wilder flourished as a boxer, qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winning the bronze medal, and going on to win his first 38 fights - 37 by knockout - and the WBC heavyweight title

The 32-year-old Wilder will defend his title on Saturday in Brooklyn against Bermane Stiverne

Wilder: 'Naieya came and it was a blessing in disguise... I probably wouldn't be boxing if it weren't for her'

The undefeated champ hopes to land a lucrative fight against IBF and WBA titleholder Anthony Joshua

Wilder, 32, has a perfect 38-0 record, including 37 knockouts. He will defend his title against Bermane Stiverne on Saturday

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder stands six-foot-seven with a chiseled, 220-pound frame draped over a pair of broad shoulders that seem to stretch from one end of the room to the other.

Even without his belt or boxing attire, it would be relatively easy to guess the 32-year old's line of work.

But it wasn't Wilder's obvious physical gifts that brought him to boxing. It was an unplanned pregnancy, and a complicated one at that.

'Naieya came and it was a blessing in disguise because I probably wouldn't be boxing if it weren't for her,' Wilder told Dailymail.com of his 12-year-old daughter on Wednesday, ahead of Saturday's title defense against Bermane Stiverne in Brooklyn.

These days Wilder is fighting for low seven-figure purses in hopes of hitting a major eight-figure payday with a unification bout against the IBF and WBA heavyweight champion, England's Anthony Joshua. But it was back when he was a 19-year old in 2005 when Wilder made the choices that brought him to this point in his career.

He had been a star basketball player and wide receiver at Tuscaloosa Central High in Alabama — where football ranks as the preeminent sport, pastime, and religion — but his grades prevented him from continuing his athletic career at the collegiate level.

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A 19-year-old Wilder with a young Naieya shortly after her birth in 2005. Wilder and Naieya's mother, Helen, were given the option of terminating the pregnancy, but they both immediately refused. Wilder says that decision led him to boxing

Wilder, seen here with daughter Naieya when he was still an amateur and Olympic hopeful back in 2007

Wilder (far left and far right) will defend his WBC crown against Bermane Stiverne (left, with Wilder) at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on Saturday. Stiverne is the only one of Wilder's 38 opponents who went the distance against the Tuscaloosa native

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, works out at the infamous Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn on Wednesday

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Wilder enrolled at the local community college in hopes of improving his marks and ultimately attending the nearby University of Alabama, where he could play football or basketball for the Crimson Tide.

But before any of those dreams came to fruition, Wilder and his girlfriend Helen learned that they were expecting. What's more, the doctor told them their daughter would be born with spina bifida, a birth defect in which there is an incomplete closing of the backbone and membranes around the spinal cord.

Wilder cradling a young Naieya with his boxing gloves

'I remember being in the doctors office,' Wilder said. 'Dim lights, her mother was right beside me and [the doctor was] going over instructions, little things about how to take care of a child with spina bifida and different organizations that help.

'Then,' Wilder said, 'he gave us "option B."… We could terminate the pregnancy.'

Wilder reacted immediately.

'Instantly, I looked at her and I looked back at him, and I was like, "I can't do that."'

'I felt like at this point, she's developed, we know [she's a girl],' he continued. 'I felt like, "give her life." You never know what she can become.'

Naieya's mother agreed, but the decision to proceed with the pregnancy had immediate ramifications.

The first few years of Naieya's life would involve a battery of surgeries aimed at giving her the ability to walk. Some of the costs were offset by various insurance programs and organizations, Wilder explained, but there was a heavy emotional toll.

'As a parent, you never want to hear your child is going to be born with a disability,' he said. 'We all want a healthy child. All that was just circling through my mind.'

Despite picking up the sport in 2005, Wilder managed to qualify for the Olympics by 2007. He went on take the bronze medal

(Left) Wilder, after winning his bronze medal, with Naieya, who required several surgeries after being born with spina bifida

Wilder grabs a bite with daughter Naieya. 'She's definitely like me, she gets everything from me,' Wilder said

Wilder picked up a serving jobs at Red Lobster and IHOP, as well as a gig driving a Budweiser truck. Unfortunately he had to drop out of school, which effectively ended his dream of being a basketball or football player.

By that time, however, Wilder had already started considering his options – specifically boxing.

It may have been farfetched for someone from Tuscaloosa — which, as it turns out, had only one gym dedicated to pugilism — but Wilder had his reasons.

SPINA BIFIDA

Spina bifida is a birth defect in which there is an incomplete closing of the backbone and membranes around the spinal cord

Those afflicted may require the aid of crutches or a wheelchair

Spina bifida is believed to be the result of a combination of genetic and environmental factors

However, spina bifida does not follow direct patterns of heredity

There is no single cause of spina bifida, nor any known way to prevent it entirely

Dietary supplementation with folic acid has been shown to be helpful in reducing the incidence of spina bifida

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First, Wilder says, he never lost a fight growing up.

'Never, ever, ever, ever, ever.'

Second, boxers certainly didn't need to attend college.

And last, boxers made money, or so he thought.

'I was ignorant to the sport,' he said. 'I thought every fighter that stepped into the sport made a lot of money. I didn't know there was levels. It's a process to get to that point.'

A friend brought Wilder down to the local gym, where trainer Jay Deas was initially dismissive of the wiry, 195-pound teenager. 'He said, '[t]he basketball court is down the street.'

It wasn't as if the gangly Wilder was a natural. Winning neighborhood fights and surviving three rounds in the ring are entirely different challenges.

On the street, Wilder says, 'you get your man, you put a good move on him, he falls… get on and pound.'

Boxing, on the other hand, is significantly more exhausting.

'When I started, even one minute tortured me,' Wilder said while wobbling his legs in his chair. 'I remember sparring, and I was like Bambi. Remember that movie? My legs were shaking like Bambi.'

Having promised an infant Naieya that he would become a 'world champion' and 'support her beyond belief,' Wilder stuck with the sport.

His timing was perfect. By 2007, the improving Wilder had enough wins as an amateur to compete for and ultimately earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.

Wilder works out on the heavy bag back when he weighed just 201 pounds. He checked in at 220 pounds at Friday's weigh-in

He went on to win a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, turned pro, and has been unstoppable in 38 career fights, recording 37 knockouts and winning the WBC crown with a unanimous decision victory over Stiverne in 2015. (On Saturday, Wilder will get another crack at knocking out Stiverne, who remains the only fighter to go the distance with the WBC heavyweight champion).

Wilder won bronze in 2008 before going pro

Wilder's family expanded too: In his first years as a professional his now ex-wife Jessica Scales-Wilder gave birth to his daughter Ava as well as sons Deontay Jr. and Dereon.

Best of all, Naieya's success paced her father's.

Just as Wilder refused to make excuses for his own situation, he didn't offer that opportunity to his growing daughter.

And thanks to the success of her surgeries, Naieya has been every bit as active as her siblings. She walks without crutches, does cartwheels, and lives the kind of life her parents once feared she couldn't have.

'We never shield our child,' said Wilder, who is expecting a daughter with his fiancée Shuntel Swift this February.

'We let her crawl around, run around, "I can do it," he says, mimicking Naieya's voice. 'Even as a little girl, she didn't want you to put on clothes for her. "I can do it." As a father, it made me proud. She's definitely like me, she gets everything from me: the strength, the mindset, the ability to not give up.'

Wilder admits he's a soft touch with his children, outside of the occasional spanking. He even prefers to keep the television off in the house because he fears it brings in too much negativity.

Of course, with a sport that's as violent as boxing, there is always going to be some negativity.

Wilder's children know how he makes a living, although he wonders if they truly understand the dangers involved.

'My 12-year old, she understands a little bit more than the rest because she's been in it longer,' Wilder said of Naieya. 'She'll tell you now, she wants daddy to knock them out, but she don't want daddy to get hurt.'

Wilder has not been hurt, or at least not significantly. He had a badly swollen eye after beating France's Johann Duhaupas in 2015, and he required surgeries on his broken right hand and torn biceps following his 2016 win over Chris Arreola.

Wilder's daughter Ava (back left) and son Deontay Jr. (middle) take a picture with their father

Naieya does a cartwheel at Wilder's gym in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where the 'Bronze Bomber' first learned how to box

Wilder taking a boat ride with son Deontay Jr. The proud father is expecting his fifth child, a daughter, in February

(Left) Wilder's son Dereon and daughter Ava. (Right) Wilder with fiancee Shuntel Swift. The couple is expecting a daughter

Known as 'The Bronze Bomber' in the ring, Wilder has inflicted significantly more punishment than he's absorbed in his decade as a pro. He can't claim to have a classic style, but Wilder possesses what some consider the sport's best right hand, and at times he's been absolutely terrifying.

Wilder even scared himself during his previous appearance at Barlcays Center back in January of 2016, when he knocked Poland's Artur Szpilka unconscious with a right cross.

'I really felt in my heart that I killed Szpilka for about three to five seconds,' said Wilder.

I really felt in my heart that I killed Szpilka for about three to five seconds

Deontay Wilder

Szpilka was taken out on a stretcher and brought to a hospital. He has since resumed his career after a brief hiatus.

The moment crystallized everything that's uncomfortable for a father of four who makes millions by brutalizing opponents.

'I tell people I got two personalities,' he said. 'Outside of the ring, I'm Deontay Wilder – the guy I am now. Inside the ring I'm a totally different person… I don't care about how bad I hurt you. You're trying to hurt me as well too. And I'm already defensive because you're stepping in the ring with me. Your intentions are bad. So I must become something else.

Wilder knocked Poland's Artur Szpilka unconscious in 2016. Spilka was taken out on a stretcher and brought to a hospital. He has since returned to boxing. 'I really felt in my heart that I killed Szpilka for about three to five seconds,' said Wilder.

Wilder works out at the famous Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn on Wednesday. With another win, he hopes to put himself in a position to fight IBF and WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who has been reluctant to agree to a fight with Wilder

Despite Wilder's perfect record and sterling reputation as a fighter, he can't yet claim any signature win. Boxing's heavyweight division is currently light on talent, particularly after the recent retirement of Wladimir Klitschko.

The ultimate fight (and payday) for Wilder would be a bout Joshua, who knocked out Klitschko in front of 90,000 spectators at London's Wembley Stadium last April.

Fighting Joshua would represent a significant pay raise for Wilder, who will reportedly make around $1.4 million for Saturday's fight. Known as the 'Watford Wallop,' Joshua pocketed nearly $20 million for fighting the legendary Klitschko, and a fight with Wilder could provide a similar purse.

Wilder wants to face Anthony Joshua (seen here knocking down Wladimir Klitschko in April) but the IBF and WBA champion seems less eager to fight the WBC title holder

Like Wilder, Joshua is former Olympian and an undefeated knockout artist. But while Wilder hopes to fight Joshua in 2018, the 28-year-old Englishman has been slow to commit.

Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, has offered Wilder a fight against contender Dillon Whyte in London on February 3. Wilder's promoter Lou DiBella rejected that idea on Twitter, writing, 'We travel for champs, not chumps.'

The theory in boxing circles is that Joshua will eventually fight Wilder, but not anytime soon. This way, when they do get in the ring, the American might be passed his prime.

Wilder, who believes he's only just reaching his peak, is willing to wait if he has to.

'If George Foreman [can win a title] at 45, I can do it at 50,' Wilder said. 'I can go 50, easy.'

On its surface, the situation is fundamentally unfair.

Outside of Joshua's upset of Klitschko, Wilder and Joshua have nearly identical resumes. And it's not as though Wilder has backed away from any challenges.

To Wilder, it's as though he's being penalized for being too good.

'I'm too dangerous,' Wilder said. 'I'm a risk and they know it.'

Similar situations have been known to torment deserving boxers in the past. Some have quit before getting their chance at an ultimate payday.

While frustrated, Wilder is hardly despondent. The former community college dropout has gone from IHOP to a heavyweight title, all while watching Naieya overcome spina bifida.

Beating Joshua and making himself a household name on both sides of the Atlantic would be wonderful, Wilder explained. But to him, that reward would be empty without the struggles he and his family have been through.

'You're going to have ups and downs,' he said. 'My thing is, how can you be able to appreciate the good without the bad?'

WBC World Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder is announced the winner in his fight against Chris Arreola in July of 2016. Wilder required hand and biceps surgery after the fight, but other than that, he's never been truly hurt in the ring

Wilder following his knockout of Artur Szpilka in 2016 at Barclays Center. In the ring, Wilder is known as the 'Bronze Bomber'

Bermane Stiverne is the only one of Wilder's 38 opponents who has gone the distance with the Alabama native. Wilder will get another chance to knock out Stiverne on Saturday in Brooklyn. Wilder beat Stiverne to win the WBC crown in 2015